Scutaro prefers Red Sox, Dodgers

Scutaro informed Cardenas that his preferred landing spots this offseason are the Dodgers and the Red Sox, considering that would give him the best shot at making the postseason.

The Dodgers have expressed interest in Scutaro as a second baseman, while the Red Sox have an obvious need at shortstop. Rangers and Mariners have contacted Scutaro as well. Some teams have also asked about Scutaro as a third baseman.

Scutaro hasn’t closed the door completely on returning to the Blue Jays, though that is highly unlikely. Toronto will offer him arbitration to make sure the club is in line to net two compensatory Draft picks if he declines and signs elsewhere.

Scutaro would like a multi-year contract and he is in a position to get one. With few top-tier shortstop options out there, Boston’s best bet figures to be Scutaro, who is coming off a career year. Under the circumstances and in this market, Scutaro might even be able to wind up with a three-year contract.

The Blue Jays are content with heading into 2010 with Alex Gonzalez and John McDonald as their shortstops. That being said, if Scutaro decides to accept arbitration — I wouldn’t bet on that happening — Toronto is said to be ready to take on all three players.

HALLADAY UPDATE: I’m sure you have all heard by now that Jays ace Roy Halladay would reportedly be willing to waive his no-trade clause to be traded to the Yankees. At this point, it’s safe to assume that the Blue Jays would not be in serious talks with any teams that Halladay would not approve. Given his place in the organization, there’s no way Toronto has NOT asked Doc what teams he would and would not want to play for. So, with GM Alex Anthopoulos acknowledging that he’s willing to trade players within the AL East, and Halladay’s desire to win, it’s fair to assume he’d approve a deal to the Yankees or Red Sox.

5 Comments

Latest rumor has the Jays asking the Sox for Buchholtz, Casey Kelly and Daniel Bard, and the Yanks-Jesus Montero, Chamberlain or Hughes, and Austin Jackson for Halladay.

If those rumors are true, not sure which deal I’d like the best. Casey Kelly and Bard are appealing-no doubt, but Montero looks to be tremendous as does Jackson. I also tend to like Hughes a bit better than Buchholtz and not sure about Chamberlain-I think I’d pass on him.

Who knows what we end up getting, but I doubt, very much, if we get a package resembling either of the previous ones mentioned. If we could get 2 of the 3 players, I think that we would be done well. I think that it is more likely that we will get one of the three players, followed by a several tier 2 prospects to save face. Again, I reiterate my earlier point that we do not want Joba. I like him, but Toronto is probably not a good fit for this guy as far as off-the-field goes. He is a Yankee – through and through — and will likely not stay. We need players that we can convince to stay in the organization long-term, otherwise the deal is worthless. I can think of a number of players that we received in the past from earlier trades with the Yanks that all bolted the first chance they got — or remained because they were useless! I hope that I am wrong, but I think that if any of the previous deals were on the table, DOC would be long gone by now.

I don’t know why everyone here wants us to go into this huge rebuilding mode. I believe that will be the worst mistake the jays can make. You guys keep saying we will be able to compete in 5 years, but who wants to wait 5 year?? Not me. You can’t go into a rebuilding mode in the AL east. The only reason the Rays did it was because they were a brand new team anyway. And have you guys gone crazy or something? Trading Halladay to the redsox or yankees??? If he goes to the yankees you mine was well just hand them the trophy. Halladay is my favorite player of all time and it would break my heart watching him pitch in a yankee uniform.

With all the free agents on the market, there will be a lower price for really good players. If we signed some and pulled off some trades that actually make sense, we could have a chance to make the playoffs and give Halladay a reason to stay here.

Im all for draft picks and rebuilding our minors, and i know that im going to hear a lot of arguments from you guys, but if we go into this rebuilding phase that everyone is talking about, dont expect us to win more than 60 games for a decade or so

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